Glee Gambles at Glory
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and fifty-two:  abc 7 of 26  New Directions is helping at the PTA's Casino Night, but the real game is between them.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 21st cycle. Now cycle 22!_

_**ALPHABET 2.0** - So nearly a year ago (HA!) I had done a set of stories taking inspiration by words, three for each letter of the alphabet (started with Acapella, Audition Arts in mid-February and every other day to April). Well now I wanted to do something like that, but using the alphabet another way. Instead of random words, I made sentences, all with those same letters (you'll see). There'll be 13 here in cycle 22, and the other half in cycle 24!  
**TODAY:** (7 of 26) G is for..._

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**"Glee Gambles at Glory"  
Will & New Directions **

Will had jumped on the opportunity the moment it came. He could recognize the opportunity even before he really knew what to do about it… His heart raced the way it would, and then his mind would give chase, and… he got it; so he turned it to the kids.

"Guys, I've got some good news," he started, which instead of spreading excitement only served weariness. "New Directions is going to be pitching in, when the PTA hosts their annual fundraiser," he finished with expectation… he got nothing.

"I don't get it," Brittany whispered to Santana; the sentiment seemed to be going around.

"Look, just think about it. You put yourselves out there for the parents to see, maybe we get to fill out a few more of these seats with some more of your classmates." There was pause.

"I still don't get it," Brittany once again cut the silence.

"Mr. Schue, I think you might be forgetting something," Santana cut in. "You make parents think Glee Club is 'cool,' and you can just kiss your 'seat fillers' goodbye," she chuckled. The others didn't speak, but their faces said it; they more or less agreed. Will looked to all of them.

"Haven't you all noticed what happens every time someone moves, or transfers and we face a competition?" He felt a glare from Lauren, but he ignored it. "And what will happen when you guys start graduating?"

"I don't think you have to worry about that for some of us," Puck smirked, getting a prompt smack on the arm from Santana; he said no more.

"Of course, we'll do it, Mr. Schue," Rachel spoke up. "But honestly, I don't think you should get your hopes up… And that's me talking."

"Well…" Will nodded slowly. "On that note… Let's get started."

They had decided on casino night. There were some… opposing voices, primarily from their 'designated opponent,' but it didn't last long. Soon they were gathering in the gym, setting up everything. They knew their job was to show the parents 'how good Glee Club is,' but between that potential embarrassment and having to spend the evening walking around that gym, once they'd finished setting up… the whole thing still sounded like a waste of time.

And as the evening started, that assumption was shown to be all too accurate. Some were more determined, more dedicated to 'the cause,' and continued to do as they were instructed. The others…

Puck had started sneaking off poker chips, left and right, to the point that his pockets jingled. This was how others got to learn of his plan. Sam was the first to notice, so the chips were split between the two, some in each of their pockets. This came to be the 'recruiting act,' until Puck, Sam, Mike, Tina, Lauren, Artie, Santana and Brittany all had jingling pockets. And with the cards, they were all set. They took refuge in the gym's inner office. There was not enough table space, so they took to the floor, sat in a circle.

"We're going to have to go back out there from time to time or Schuester will get suspicious," Artie pointed out.

"Or Rachel will tell on us," Santana added.

"Well when you're 'out,' you go out," Puck indicated the door with the decks of cards in his hands. "Alright, pockets out, let's see what we've got." Chips were pulled out of pockets, thrown in a heap in the middle. Mike and Sam both worked to sort those out.

"She's not going to go all savant on us, is she?" Tina indicated Brittany, who was twirling a stray chip on the ground.

"She's not the one you need to worry about here," Lauren turned to Tina, 'poker face' already on… Tina scooted a couple inches closer to Mike. Once chips were taken care of, Puck dealt the cards, and they were on. The first hand served as a quick lesson to those of them needing one. It wasn't long before the whole thing revealed itself as a face-off between Puck, Mike, and Lauren. Quinn found them and dragged Sam off to rescue her from 'one more parent pep talk.' Santana wanted to leave, too, hoping to get Brittany to come with her. But Artie was staying, so Brittany was staying, so Santana was on her own, and she ended up stomping out on her own. After a little while, Artie could tell Brittany was starting to feel bad about it, so he suggested they head back out to the gym. This left just four of them in the room, three playing (Tina had decided she was better off just watching). The game was getting tricky, when Santana poked her head in.

"Schuester's getting suspicious, wrap it up, boys… and Zises," she squinted.

"Done and done," Lauren raised her glasses in place before putting her cards down; the boys were toast. Mike and Tina got up to follow Santana, while Puck picked up the chips. "You know, I have a pretty good idea how you can pay me my winnings," Lauren stood by the door. Puck paused.

"Not this time…" he spoke with curious hesitation.

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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